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Canadians lose in CRTC decision
After an exhaustive review of this issue and two previous decisions to reject the proposal, the CRTC has recommended a form of fee-for-carriage for over-the-air broadcasters which will increase cable rates and may result in programme blackouts.You can read it here.
Rogers Communications believes that the CRTC has essentially placed a tax on all cable [...]
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Cable and Satellite Subscribers tell CRTC "No Thanks" to a TV Tax
Customers make case to CRTC against Big Networks’ proposed TV Tax
GATINEAU, QC – Cable and satellite subscribers today made their case against a TV Tax to the CRTC commissioners during the regulator’s public hearings on the impact of a TV Tax on Canadian television consumers.
Presenter Rosalie Persechini of York Region owns a family [...]
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Myths & Facts
Myth: Cable and satellite providers pocket 70% of your TV bill
Reality: Less than 6% of an average TV bill goes towards cable and satellite profits. That’s less than $3 on each bill. But the Big Networks don’t want Canadians to know this, as it makes their proposed monthly TV Tax of up to $10 seem far less appealing.
Myth: Cable companies steal local television signals, then sell them to consumers.
Reality: By law, cable companies are forced to carry all local signals. They have no choice. The big winners under this system are the broadcasters. Their local signals ride free over expensive cable company facilities. They’re delivered in high quality format to far more viewers than broadcasters could ever reach [...]
Myth: This is a "one time" fee to support local television to help them cope with lower advertising revenues
Reality: The TV Tax will have no expiry date and big television networks refuse to guarantee it will be used for local television. The Tax would be up to $10 per month for each subscriber. Once imposed, taxes rarely go away.
Myth: The new tax will prevent closure of local stations
REALITY:Big TV networks refuse to guarantee the tax will go to local television.
The big television networks refuse to guarantee that the money they receive from the TV Tax will be used to fund local television stations.
More Myths & Facts
Myth: Cable and satellite providers do not believe in local television
Reality: Rogers, for example, produces more than 15,000 hours of 100% local Canadian programming in 34 communities every year. Compare that to CTV and Global, who average 912 hours of local news each year. Rogers produces all of its local programming without government funding. Last year, 17,000 community groups were profiled on their local channels. [...]
Myth: Cable and satellite distributors earn billions in profits, but broadcasters are going broke
Reality: Most cable companies make their profits from combining television with other businesses like internet and local phones on a single network. Cable alone would not break even. Satellite, taking BellTV as typical, has only made a profit – a tiny 1% return on investment – once in the last 12 years. [...]
Myth: The big networks deserve to be paid for their television signals.
REALITY: Cable and satellite viewers are being asked to pay for something that has always been available for free over the air.
Since less than 10% of Canadian television is viewed today “over-the-air”, satellite and cable providers redistribute the Big Networks’ signals to over 10.5 million Canadians. Access to this large market increases [...]
Myth: Canada's big networks invest heavily in local programming
Reality: The big networks spend over $740 million on US and foreign programming and $54 million on Canadian English-language drama (Source: CRTC Statistical and Financial Summaries).
